Saturday, August 20, 2016

Woman's Death Considered a Case of of Horrendous Neglect

A woman's death in Mahanoy City is being considered a case of "horrendous" neglect.
On Friday, Mahanoy City Borough Police arrested Dorothy Robinson and John Latshaw, of Mahanoy City for the death of Elaine Latshaw, 76, in August 2015.

According to a Mahanoy City Police Affidavit, Mahanoy City Police Police and Ambulance were called 325 East South Street in the borough around 11:00pm on August 14, 2015 for a "possible expiration". Dispatch also told Police that the caller was not making any sense when she called.

When Police arrived, they found John Latshaw and Dorothy Robinson at the home.

Police found Elaine Latshaw in an upstairs bedroom soiled in feces and urine, pulse-less and was cold to the touch. At this time, Police believed that the woman had been dead for several hours.

During Deputy Coroner David Truskowsky's examination of Elaine Latshaw it was found that she had excessive bed sores that had gone untreated on her back and buttocks and also on her feet.

Police then began to question Robinson and Latshaw on the events that led up to calling 911.

Robinson told Police that she was the primary care giver for Elaine Latshaw, and that she just checked on her a half hour prior to calling 911 in which Elaine Latshaw was alive. Robinson also told Police that 4:00am with Elaine and that she ate breakfast that morning about 3 hours prior.

Robinson also reported that Elaine Latshaw had been bed bound since December of 2014 when she came home from a nursing home and was not receiving any care from any in home nurses or other agencies. She also told Police that Latshaw had not seen a doctor since December of 2014.

On Monday, August 17th, 2015 an autopsy for Latshaw at Reading Hospital in the presence of Schuylkill County Coroner David Moylan.

During the autopsy they found severe bedsores and what appeared to be gangrene on Latshaw's body. It was found that dehydration and sepsis led to the woman's death.

A statement from Coroner Dr. David J Moylan stated the situation clearly was a case of elder abuse and District Attorney Christine Holman stated " I would describe the condition as horrendous neglect".

Both John Latshaw and Robinson were locked up in Schuylkill County Prison on Friday, August 19, 2016, on charges of murder of the 3rd degree, neglect of a care dependent person, involuntary manslaughter, and recklessly endangering another person.